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A Hectic Tasting Week Ahead
Austrian Event features 185
wines
National Post Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
Saturday, April 26, 2003
When
it rains, it pours - a befitting description of the multitude of
springtime wine events now upon us. The first event is an LCBO promotion
featuring “young” winemakers. The Vintages hype reads “if
you can tell a Pinot from a pint, this event will thrill your senses…
we kick the stuffiness out of wine tastings. Sip on a wide selection of
wines, accompanied by tasty nibbles, chill-out tunes, and interactive
games. Get your mates together and plan an evening tasting star wines
with the young stars of the wine world.”
I
was surprised to discover that anyone under under-40 is considered
“young” especially as the Toronto’s Steam Whistle Brewery venue would seem to appeal
to the under-30 age group. It is rumored that plans are afoot for an
“old” (over-70) winemaker Vintages event to take place in one of
Toronto’s more peaceful, geriatric venues with walkers/hearing aids
being provided free of charge.
Having
said that, the $45 price tag is not too bad value considering that 22
winemakers will be in attendance pouring 65 wines. To
see the list of wine and attending winemakers click
here. There are 6
Canadian, 6 Italian, 5 French plus one from
Of
the Canadian wineries, I would make a beeline to BC’s only entry
Quails’ Gate where winemaker Ashley
Hooper will be pouring their Foch, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Of the three, I gave a gold medal (91 points at the Canadian Wine
Awards) to the latter - Quails’ Gate 2000 Pinot Noir Family
Reserve ($34.50).
Look for a still youthful, well-balanced, gently smoky, tangy, red
pepper purée and plumy, ripe black cherry flavours. Fans might be
interested in the special winemaker’s Quails’
Gate dinner on Tuesday,
April 29th at Herbs restaurant ($110 all-inclusive), which is limited to 35
guests. To see the menu click here
The only other young winemaker Pinot Noirs present are three
Burgundies from Armand Clos des Epeneaux,
which start at $43 for their Auxey-Duresses and jumps to $101.95 for the
estate’s 2001 Pommard. The oldest wines are pair of Riojas - Lopez de Heredia 1993 Viña Tondonia
Rosato and the white 1993 Viña Gravonia, both $24.45!
In
conjunction with Canada Book Week,
I am glad to report that some light has finally been shed on our own
homegrown wines. Nothing beats John
Schreiner’s enlightening,
just-released, 192-page soft cover effort British Columbia Wine Country
(Whitecap Books), which is indispensable in bringing you up to date with
the multitude of changes. Schreiner provides
detailed insights on BC’s myriad from grape grower to winery owner in
all thirteen regions. While Kevin
Miller’s colour photos of the
vineyards and wineries are a real treat, it’s a shame that
unimaginably useless maps should mar such a fine effort.
This
192-page 8 1/4" x 11 3/4" book is available at $29.95, less a
15% discount at Chapters-Indigo
stores (it beats their 10% website discount) if you use the current Writers’ Trust of Canada “15% off coupon” valid until May 4th.
To get a coupon (which can be used on any purchase) email us today mbv@total.net
with your address/telephone number and we will mail one to you. If you
decide to use the Chapter’s
website (a 10% discount is available) click
here
If
you prefer brandy to young winemakers, then you have the option of
checking out The Spanish Wine
Society’s tasting of seven Brandy de Jerez Gran Reservas on Wednesday, April 30th –
The
Best Tasting Deal in Town
Without
question, the best deal in town is the annual Austrian wine tasting which
takes place at the Fairmont Royal
York’s Imperial Room on Thursday,
May 1st. In addition to
7 newcomers (which are looking for Canadian representation), there are
an additional 30 wineries in attendance. A total of 185 wines are being
presented – stunning value for a mere $25. My only peeve is how can
anyone attack all these wines in just two hours allocated - from
5:30 to 7:30 pm. To help you plan ahead, click
here to see the comprehensive 46-page wine
tasting guide.
It’s
a shame that many consumers still haven’t discovered the joys of
Austrian whites. Take Weingut Stadt Krems 2001 Grüner Veltliner
(cspc #532440) at a modest
$10.70. About 15 cases of this Vintages March 8th best buy
are still available. It has a gently honeyed, fresh, ripe orange citrus
nose. On the palate it is crisp, dry and medium light bodied with
lively, ripe lemon-orange citrus flavours. This unoaked winner would go
well with seafood and poultry.
You can preview the 2002 edition of this wine at the Laurenz Moser
table. Here you will also be able to taste the sumptuous Alfred
Fischer 1999 Bouvier Trockenbeerenauslese
(aka TBA) a steal at only $18.50 (250 ml) - some bottles also still
remaining at various LCBO stores across
It would be useful if some of the specialty booksellers were more
proactive in trying to obtain much needed wine books for their
customers. Unfortunately, this rarely happens. To this end, I would like
to recommend Peter Moser’s The Ultimate Austrian Wine Guide 2002,
a 290-page soft cover from Falstaff
Publications which reviews and rates Austria’s “best” wines
from 196 profiled producers.
For a
complete update see tastersdiary.com
Last but not least, for those with “wined” out palates, let me
recommend a change of pace event: a four-course Belgian Brewmaster's dinner led by Oland Specialty Beer authority Bill
White. It takes place at La
brasserie.ca on Tuesday,
April 29
and includes four different brews matching each course, from mussel soup
to chocolate crepe. The restaurant is located at
Make sure you find out what’s happening on tastersdiary.com, which posts all the
leading trade and consumer events. Also a subscriber’s alert – you
can now access our up-to-date,
revised April Vintage Assessments newsletter
(complete with 5 new reviews)
in the Subscriber area of our website (click here
to access this section).
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Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada
2004
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
(electronic or other wise) and or quotation.
Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net